Jet sales bounce back
Honeywell announced these findings at the National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, on October 16. “It is so good to see you here in Orlando, the city of dreams. And I say this because no one in our wildest dreams would have predicted a 10-year global forecast that is 8,500 aircraft so soon,” Javier Jimenez Serrano, Honeywell Aerospace strategy and market research manager, said.
“The business aviation industry is greatly benefitting from a wave of first-time users and buyers due in part to changing habits brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Heath Patrick, Honeywell Aerospace president of Americas aftermarket, said. “The business aviation sector is expected to recover to 2019 delivery and expenditure levels by 2023, which is much sooner than previously anticipated. Demand for new business jets is as high as we’ve seen it since 2015, and we expect high levels of demand and expenditures for new aircraft for several more years.”
The survey uses a combination of macroeconomic analyses, manufacturer production and development plans, and expert opinions from aerospace industry leaders, as well as responses from 152 nonfractional business jet operators.
First-time private aviation users and buyers concerned about exposure to pathogens and issues with premium class airlines service offerings have contributed to flight activity meeting levels not seen since 2007, the busiest year ever for business aviation. Nearly 85 percent of first-time users operate in the Western Hemisphere.
The survey also included a dedicated section on carbon footprint reductions and found that half of those surveyed are currently implementing at least one method to reduce their carbon footprint, a 30- percentage-point gain over last year’s survey. Most respondents reported “fewer or slower private jet trips” followed by “increasing passenger capacity” as their current method to reduce emissions.
Sixty percent of respondents stated they plan to adopt some kind carbon emissions reduction plan in the future and cited sustainable aviation fuel as the most common way to achieve that goal. Of the remaining 40 percent of respondents, 57 percent said economic incentives like tax benefits or operating costs savings would compel them to adopt future sustainability plans.
